Snowplow crews ready for winter to hit county roads

Sunday

Road crews in Lenawee County are ready to push back when winter weather moves in.

Adrian city engineer Kristin Bauer said she is hearing predictions for more snow and cold than usual.

“But we’re ready for it. We’ll do what we always do,” Bauer said.

Storage buildings are stocked with road salt and plow drivers have been assigned routes. Motorists will see no change in the level of service in the coming season of snow and ice, said officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation, Lenawee County Road Commission and the city of Adrian.

Staffing levels are unchanged at MDOT’s garage in Adrian; snowplows will be sent onto state highways 24 hours a day during storms, said spokeswoman Kari Arend.

State highways are still divided by MDOT into two priority levels. Level 1 routes are to be maintained as bare pavement while Level 2 routes are to have at least a bare strip in the center at all times.

Level 1 state highway routes in Lenawee County include all of U.S. 223 and U.S. 127 north of U.S. 223, as well as U.S. 12 east from U.S. 127 to Ypsilanti. All other state highways in the county are in the Level 2 category.

A new winter maintenance policy and revised procedures were adopted last month by the Lenawee County Road Commission. Road commission officials plan to deal with staff reductions by putting engineering and building maintenance staff in snowplows if needed to maintain service at last year’s level.

One change residents might notice is pickups with snowblades clearing some subdivision streets. Two engineering technicians agreed to drive the small trucks through subdivisions that are difficult for snowplows to maneuver through, said operations manager Jason Schnaidt.

“They seem pretty excited to do it,” Schnaidt said. Two other workers have also agreed to drive snowplows if needed this winter, he said.

Mechanics have gone through sand- and salt-spreading equipment to make sure it is ready to go, Schnaidt said. Sanders are already installed on some trucks, he said. The rest can be installed within an hour. The road commission’s storage buildings were left full at the end of the last winter season, he said, and a contract to keep the agency stocked with salt was extended earlier this year.

The new policy and procedures emphasize a need for motorists to be prepared for slippery conditions on county roads during the winter. The policy does not call for maintaining bare pavement.

Although snow will be plowed during winter storms, the policy states, “drivers should expect to encounter random icy spots and should adjust their speed accordingly.”

Winter maintenance procedures no longer name specific roads that are to receive priority attention, but routes with the highest traffic volumes such as Occidental, Rogers and Ridge highways will still be on the top of the list for snowplowing, said Schnaidt.

During storms that arrive overnight, plowing and salt spreading will typically start by 4 a.m. Drivers are to continue overtime work based on road and weather conditions.

On weekends, primary routes will be the focus, with limited plowing on local roads, depending on conditions.

In the city of Adrian, at least three drivers will be plowing and spreading salt around the clock during storms, said Bauer. The city is responsible for maintaining state highways within its borders under a contract with MDOT. The state routes are the top priority, followed by major streets.

During daytime hours, Bauer said, drivers attempt to make at least one pass down local streets. It may take several days after a storm to finish clearing snow from local streets.

The city’s winter road maintenance plan is detailed on Adrian’s website, at www.adrianmi.gov.

Bauer urged city residents to help during winter storms by not plowing snow from driveways into the streets. She also urged drivers to be cautious near city trucks that are plowing snow and avoid turning into their path.

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